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Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Keri, May 10, 2017.

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  1. Keri

    Keri New Member

    Joined:
    May 10, 2017
    Hi everyone. My cat, Violet, developed diabetes secondary to two steroid injections she received to treat her severe allergies (seafood, beef, turkey, chicken, environmental, etc.) She had bitten all the hair off her legs to the point of open wounds. She then developed pancreatitis and secondary diabetes. Last July she was hospitalized for 9 days. She fought so hard to live. After her discharge we syringe fed her for several weeks. She went from one unit of Lantus twice a day while hospitalized to .5 units twice a day. They thought she had gone into remission but when we took her off the insulin her numbers worsened. She had always been a mostly dry food eater and when she started eating again, she gravitated toward dry food. We tried with all of our might to switch her to wet food. The hard part is she can only eat duck (tried rabbit, venison, and raw and she won't eat it). She even kept syringe feeding her when she didn't get enough calories from the wet. For a few months she was doing better and then about three months ago, she stopped eating anything. She would throw up every time she tried to eat. Her liver readings were somewhat elevated and her cholesterol was quite high. We wondered if it was from the high fat content in duck. I started giving her omeprazole with some chicken because I was desperate. She started eating and keeping down dry food. The vet said to let her eat dry food and give up trying to switch her over because we could no longer syringe feed her (she always throws up now), and she just won't eat enough of it. The most I can get her to eat of her wet food is about 20% of her diet. She started at 11-12 pounds, went up to 14 from the steroid shots, and was holding her own around 10. Last month she went down to 9.5 pounds and her insulin was increased to 1.5 units twice a day. She has started to pull out big tufts of hair which is probably unrelated but does often occur when she hasn't eaten for several hours. We had her on Atopica which was miraculous but now we can't get it down her. She just lost another pound even though I'm ensuring she is getting 240 calories a day (enough for a 12 pound cat). If I don't feed her in time (I get up all hours of the night and have a timed feeder during the day), she pulls out more hair. I get her latest fructosamine reading tomorrow. Her urination and drinking had decreased so I'm so devastated and worried that her weight dropped again. I'm wondering if I should try a different insulin. I'm afraid of the pork-based because of all her allergies, and need a long-lasting insulin because I work all day. Do you know if any insulin works better for cats who won't transition away from dry food? Sorry so long but her case is so complicated. The last few days she has also developed a cough. I would take her in for more testing but she's not strong enough to go through that again. I'm hoping it's realted to allergies (her eyes are runny as well). Thank you.
     
  2. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    That sounds so difficult to manage! Do you use any digestive enzymes such as FortiFlora on her food? Do you test at home?
     
  3. Yong & Maury GA

    Yong & Maury GA Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2017
    Welcome Keri and Violet,
    So sorry to hear what you are struggling with :bighug:. Lantus is usually a preferred insulin but you could try the other in its family, Levemir. The other long-lasting insulin is Prozinc, I do not believe it has pork. It's predecessor PZI, made by another company, was a beef/pork insulin. With the cough and runny eyes, I have to wonder if she might have an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) or cold. Very possible it is just allergies. Have you ever tried Benedryl for her?

    What dry food is she currently on?
    Could you put some information in your Signature? http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
     
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